Title :
An artificial muscle by PVA hydrogel can generate high power close to living skeletal muscles
Author_Institution :
Mech. Eng. Lab., AISR, Ibaraki, Japan
Abstract :
Polyvinylalcohol (PVA) hydrogel containing both polyacrylic acids (PAA) and polyallylamines (PAlAm) has been investigated for some time. In this report the performances of two kinds of improved materials are shown. One was made with a very narrow gap mold, and the other by applying uniaxial stretching during gelation to realize an anisotropic hydrogel. As a result, thin films of 10-μm thickness have been realized. These films are able to contract within 0.2 s under loading from 0 to 2 kg/cm2. The contraction ratio varies depending on the load from 25% (no load) to 10% (2 kg/cm2). The effect of anisotropy was found to increase the contraction ratio about 15% in this case
Keywords :
gels; muscle; polymer solutions; prosthetics; 10 micron; PVA hydrogel; anisotropic hydrogel; artificial muscle; artificial organs; contraction ratio; gelation; high power; living skeletal muscles; polyacrylic acids; polyallylamines; polyvinylalcohol; robotics; thin films; uniaxial stretching; very narrow gap mold; Anisotropic magnetoresistance; Biomechanics; Cities and towns; Delay; Goniometers; Laboratories; Mechanical engineering; Medical robotics; Muscles; Power generation;
Conference_Titel :
Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 1989. Images of the Twenty-First Century., Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in
Conference_Location :
Seattle, WA
DOI :
10.1109/IEMBS.1989.96046
